Clinton to State Department: 'Make our country proud'

Hillary Clinton formally resigned Friday as America's 67th secretary of state, capping a 4-year tenure and telling State Department staffers "I was honored to serve and lead as part of a huge extended family."
(By The Associated Press)
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WASHINGTON  Hillary Rodham Clinton formally resigned Friday as America's secretary of state, capping a four-year tenure that saw her shatter records for the number of countries visited. John Kerry was sworn in to replace her.

In a letter sent to President Barack Obama shortly before she left the State Department for the last time in her official capacity, Clinton thanked her former opponent for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination for the opportunity to serve in his administration. Clinton said it had been an honor to be part of his Cabinet.

"I am more convinced than ever in the strength and staying power of America's global leadership and our capacity to be a force for good in the world," she said in the letter.

Her resignation became effective at 3 p.m., when Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan swore in John Kerry as the top U.S. diplomat. The former Massachusetts senator and 2004 presidential candidate is the 68th secretary of state.

"I'm just very, very honored to be sworn in and I'm very anxious to get to work," Kerry told reporters after the private ceremony at the Capitol. "I'll be reporting Monday morning at 9 o'clock to do my part," he said, but he refused to say what global hotspot he would visit first.

In the State Department's main lobby, Clinton pushed through a throng of American foreign service workers who clamored for handshakes and smartphone photos with her and gave an emotional goodbye speech.

She told them to continue to "serve the nation we all love, to understand the challenges, the threats and the opportunities that the United States faces and to work with all our heart and all of our might to make sure that America is secure, that our interests are promoted and our values are respected."

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I am so glad she is gone. It seemed that the job she was so richly rewarded for was too much of a burden for her to be bothered with. "Four Americans are dead. What difference does it make?" This was her response to the murder of 4 Americans in Libya by Muslim terrorists. "I hope I get to sleep in," she told ABC's Cynthia McFadden with a laugh. "It will be the first time in many years. I have no office to go to, no schedule to keep, no work to do. That will probably last a few days then I will be up and going with my new projects," she said. Imagine, this woman is so tired flying across the world in luxury to do her job or be worried with dead Americans under her charge. What if she had been elected president? How much more tired would she be? On the other hand, how could she possibly do worse than Obama has done?